The embodiments herein relate generally to devices for cleaning rugs.
Area rug cleaning and washing has many risks to the professional cleaner. The equipment used to extract and/or evacuate water and cleaning solution from the rug is expensive to purchase and maintain, and requires significant amounts of energy to operate. Typically, this equipment comprises machines that take up significant space, create hazardous working environments and cause damage to delicate textiles. As a result, these machines are impractical for the majority of mid-size cleaning companies.
Smaller companies are utilizing underpowered portable extraction machines and general devices made for wall-to-wall carpet cleaning. However, these devices are inefficient and do not remove the majority of water and cleaning solution in the rug. This is undesirable because the devices often leave the area rug with a crusty pile, browning fringes and inadvertent color changes caused by dyes in the rug that migrate during the elongated drying process. This places significant burdens on the cleaning companies due to unhappy clients and the additional costs required to remedy the rugs and cover liabilities. Other machinery designed to clean synthetic wall-to-wall carpets exists in the industry. However, this machinery is not safe for use with area rugs. In particular, the amount of heat and pressure generated by this machinery damages the delicate fibers and dyes of the rug.
As such, there is a need in the industry for a rug cleaning apparatus for use with area rugs or other textiles that overcomes the limitations of the prior art. More specifically, there is a need for a rug cleaning apparatus that rinses, decontaminates and evacuates fluid and/or undesirable particulates from the rug evenly and with enhanced efficiency.